Means for making paper containers and filling them with fluent material



TAKEO OMORI Oct. 31, 1961 MEANS FOR MAKING PAPER CONTAINERS AND FILLING THEM WITH FLUENT. MATERIAL 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 29, 1959 I N VE N TOR I TAKE 0 OMOR/ fIG-ENT Oct. 31, 1961 TAKEO OMORI MAKING PAPER CONTAINERS AND MEANS FOR FILLING THEM WITH FLUENT MATERIAL 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 29, 1959 Fig.5 /4- INVENTOR. TAKE 0 OMOR/ AGENT Oct. 31, 1961 TAKEO OMORI 3,006,121

MEANS FOR MAKING-PAPER CONTAINERS AND FILLING THEM WITH FLUENT MATERIAL 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 29, 1959 Fig. 4

INVENTOR 774x50 0MOR/ AGEN T TAKEO OMORI MEANS FOR MAKING PAPER CONTAINERS AND Oct. 31, 1961 FILLING THEM WITH FLUENT MATERIAL 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 29, 1959 7//////////fin IN VEN TOR MKEO OMOR/ 06L 1961 TAKEO OMORI 3,006,121

MEANS FOR MAKING PAPER CONTAINERS AND FILLING THEM WITH FLUENT MATERIAL Filed July 29, 1959 Fig- 7/ INF" m .llll

5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR YHKEO OMORI BY 7' I (Film l -10;

United States Patent MEANS FOR MAKING'PAPER CONTAINERS. AND FILLING THEM WITH FLUENT MATERIAL Takeo Qmori, 9-2'Chome, Sosigaya, Setagaya-ku,

Tokyo, Japan Filed July 29, 1959; Ser. No; 830,325 11 Claims. ((31. 53-180) This invention relates to meansfor. making paper containers and filling themwith fluent material. More particularly this invention relates to apparatus for producing containers from a continuous. strip or web of coated paper and filling them with a liquid as they are produced.

A particular object of this invention: is the production of bags or cartons from a web of? coated paper and filling them with a potable liquid.

A further object of this invention is the continuous production of bags or cartons of coated-paper and filling them with a fluent material and sealing them.

An additional object of this invention is the provision of means to fold a web of coated paper into'a tube and to form successively a series of containers, fill them with a fluid, seal the tube between and cut them apart.

An additional object of this invention is the provision of a hollow mandrel? having means thereaboutfor fold.- inga web of coated paper and-sealing it in tubular form, sealing the end of the tube and admitting fluent mate rial into the mandrel and the sealed tube and sealing the tube after filling to form afilled container.

These and other objects will appear from a consideration of the following specification taken with the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof and together comprising a complete disclosure of my invention.

In the drawings, wherein like characters of reference represent like parts throughout the several. views:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of my container as produced and filled;

FIG. 2. indicates the fold lines for a single container;

FIG. 3 is aside elevation, partly diagrammatic, with parts omitted, showing essential features of my invention;

FIG. 4. is a fragmentary detail, partlyin section, showing the mandrel and the foldingand edge sealing means;

FIG. 5 is a section along the line 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a section on the line 77 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a section substantially along the line 8-8 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 illustrates a step in the folding, of theblank to form a container;

FIG. 10'is an enlarged detail of a heat: sealing means for sealing the container, shown in perspective;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of the gusset engaging fingers on their chains, said. figure being taken at 90 to FIG. 3;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary front view of the device for severing the filled containers.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and- 2, I show a completed container, and a blank formedson'a continuous web. The container a. is formed by folding: along the lines 2' to form a rectangular tube and then folding along the lines 3 to form the roof type top'portion and along the lines 7 to form the bottom portion. The roof top is gusseted in the regions 5 and the line 6 comprises an innerfold at the seal. In sealing, the gusseted portions 5 are folded inwardly and the whole areabetweentwo. connected containers is sealed, and portion 9 becomes a roof part and portion 10 becomes the bottom. The lines- 2'; 3, 6 and 7 are scored or embossed on a web of coated paper, as it is fed to the machine, to facilitatev folding.

A web 1 of suitable paper b having a coating c of ice polyethylene, on'one side, is mounted on a suitable frame F, in the form of a roll R. A roll T of tape 13 is also mounted on the frame F. The tape 13 is a narrow web, in the present instance about a half inch wide, coated on both sides with a polyethylene film. The purpose of this tape will appear in connection with the description of FIG. 9. The web 1 is passed between the rollers 11 and 12 having mating ridges and depressions respectively to form the score. lines 2, 3, 6 and 7. From the rolls 11, 12, the web 1.-passes to the rolls 14 where it is'joined by the tape 13. The assembled web 1 and tape 13 pass over roller 14' to a mandrel 15. Themandrel 15 is substantially rectangular as shown in FIGS. 5; 6 and 7, and is supported on an arm 15' suitably attached to a platform P.

Suitably supported on the arm 15' adjacent the upper end of the mandrel 15 a roller 16 is mounted on an arm 116 and is adapted to be pressed against the mandrel by means of a screw 117. The roller 16 has end flanges 17 adapted to engage opposite sides of the mandrel 15 and also has enlarged portions 16 adapted to press against the adjacent side of the mandrel. The raised portions 16 and the flanges 17 engage the web 1 ad'- jacent the mandrel and fold it along the intermediate fold lines 2. A pair of rollers 18 mounted in depressions 118 in the mandrel 15 rotate on suitable screw 1-19 and cooperate with the flanges 17 and the raised portions 16' to fold the web 1 about the mandrel 15. Below the rollers 16, on-an arm 12b mounted on a bracket 121 I mount a pairof rollers 19, engaging. opposite sides of the mandrel and with their axes turned from the axis of the roller 16. Each roller 19 has two raised portions 19' and a pair of end flanges 20. These raised portions19' and. flanges 20 cooperate with four rollers 21 placed in corner depressions 122 in the mandrel 15. The rollers. 21 are rotatably mounted on screws 123; The flanges 20. keep the blank folded along the intermediate lines 2, and fold it further along the outer lines 2. The rollers 19 are pressed toward the mandrel' 15 by means. similar to the means 117.

Below the rollers 19, I mount a heat sealingmeans 23 mounted on a bracket 124 suitably secured to the arm 15. The. heat sealing means 23 is connected by suitable wires W to a source of electric potential. Opposite the heat sealing means, I mount a pressure roller 24 on an arm 126 secured to an. upstanding. member 127 on the platform P. A roller 128 mounted in a pocket in the mandrel 15 cooperates with the roller 24. to exert pressure onthe tubular mandrel opposite the point of sealing. The arm 126 is pressed. toward the mandrel by means 127 similar to the means117.

Below the heat sealing meansv 23, I place apressure roller 25 mounted on. an arm 130 pivoted on a bracket 131 upstanding from the platform P. The. arr-1113.0 is pressed toward. the mandrel by means132simi1arto the means 117. The roller 25 has apair of flanges 26- and a-raisedi mid portion 25. The flanges 26icooperate with the sides of the mandrel to keep the tubular carton forming member folded, and the mid portion 25'" cooperates with a roller 27 mounted in a recess 133 and rotatably mounted on.- a. pin 134 held in position by. means. of screws 135. The roller 27 has, atire 136 adapted: to exert great pressure on the seam formed by overlapping edgesof the web 1 and by the tape 13 placed adjacent the. point of overlap 22' as seen in FIG. 9.

The materialof the web 1 is formed into a=rectangular tube'by the means above described and passes next to the infolding means now to be described. The platform P is. spaced from a second platform 139; bymeans. of posts 137. The platform 139 rests on posts: or pillars 138, mountedon the base B of which there'are preferably four. A pair of push rods 28 are slidably mounted in blocks 140 afiixed to the underside of the platform P. These rods have cam rollers 30 at their outer ends which engage the cams 32 and are urged into contact with the cams by springs 141. Shafts 34, 35, 36 and 37 are arranged on the sides of a square and each shaft rotates in a pair of pillow blocks 142. The shaft 34 is rotated by means of a suitable chain trained over sprocket 38. Bevel gears 234, 235 connect shafts 34 and 35 and shafts 35 and 36 are rotatably connected by bevel gears 236 and 237, while gears 238 and 239 connect shafts 36 and 37. Other push rods 29 are slidably mounted in blocks 143 and have cam rollers 31 at their outer ends which are urged toward earns 33, mounted on the shafts 34 and 36, by means of springs 144.

The mandrel 15 terminates slightly below the platform P and the tube 40, mounted in the mandrel 15, extends downwardly some distance below the platform 139. Fluent material for filling the cartons a is conducted through the tube 40 which extends away from the mandrel 15 to a source of supply. The tube 41, also mounted in the mandrel, constitutes an air vent.

The inner ends 146 of the push rods 28 engage the rectangular tube, formed on the mandrel 15, and push inwardly along the portions 6, of the scored lines 2, which form the gusseted portions of the container. At the same time the forked ends 147 of the push rods operate to force the portions 9 and toward the filler tube 40. This is the first operation in the formation of an individual container. The partially formed containers now pass to the heat sealing means, now to be described.

A plurality of heat sealing blocks are mounted on a pair of parallel chains 43 by means of pivots 44, mounts in ears 148. Springs 45 connected to cars 149 and 150 hold the blocks in alignment as the chains 43 move. A roller 46 is rotatably mounted in cars 151 on the back of each block 42. On the face of each block 42, a heat sealing portion 47 is mounted and is heated by any suitable known means. The chains 43 pass over suitable sprockets 152, 153, rotatably mounted on axles 154, 155 respectively, mounted in two of the pillars 138.

Mounted in another pair of pillars 138 is another pair of shafts 156, 157' rotatably supporting sprockets 158 and 159, respectively, about which are trained chains 49, similar to chains 43. These chains 49 carry pressure blocks 48. Pressure pieces 50 are attached to the blocks 48 are provided with rollers 52 similar to the rollers 46* A guide 53 is suitably arranged on the framework and is engaged by the rollers 46 to move the heated portions 47 toward the containers. A guide 54 is similarly arranged to engage the rollers 52 to press the pressure blocks 50 against the containers.

FIG. 11 shows a portion of FIG. 3, turned 90 from the showing in FIG. 3. In FIG. 11, the gusset engaging fingers 57 are mounted on a pair of identical chains 56 carrying blocks 55 in which the fingers 57 are transversely slidably mounted. These fingers 57 engage the gussets 6, as formed by the pusher members 146., to insure that the gussets are properly folded in at the time of sealing. Each chain 56 is carried by a pair of sprockets 170, 171, mounted on rotatable shafts 172 and 173 respectively carried by brackets 174, 175, respectively and mounted on pillars 138. Springs 58 tend to urge the fingers 57 away from the containers, and rollers 59 on the rear ends of the fingers 57 engage tracks 60 to cause the fingers 57 to engage the gussets 6.

The containers are thus formed and sealed while traveling with the chains 43, 49. As a seal is made, fluent material is introduced into the container through the tube 40. As the container moves downwardly, another pair of blocks 47, 50 engage it to seal it above the contents. This action is repeated indefinitely, a chain of filled and sealed containers passing downwardly to the scoop or cradle 160, suitably mounted on the base B. Air from the container 13 is vented by the tube 41.

A pair of conveyor chains 180 having spaced bars 61,

62 thereon engage the spaced containers, the bars 61, 62 fitting in the sealed area between adjacent containers. These bars 61, 62 move the filled containers a upwardly over an arcuate table 161 mounted on a frame 162. A gap 163 in the table 161 permits a shear to sever the filled containers, which slide down the table 161 onto a belt conveyor 71. The shear blades 63, 64 are slidably mounted on rods 164 and are urged apart by springs 165. The rods 164 are mounted in blocks 166 on a platform 167. A shaft 65 mounted in pillow blocks 168 has cam 68 mounted thereon. This cam engages a roller 69 on the shear blade 64 to move said blade upwardly. Shear blade is moved downwardly by links 67 connected to straps 169 engaging eccentrices 66. The shaft 65 is rotated by a suitable sprocket 181 and a chain 182.

While the operation of the machine should be apparent from the above description, the following summary is given for simplification:

The paper web 1 having a coating of polyethylene on one side is passed between the rolls 11 and 12 which score it properly for the fold lines. The tape 13 is associated with the web 1 and guided along one edge thereof at the rollers 14. After passing over the guide roller 14', the web passes between the flanged roller 16 and the mandrel 15. The flanges 17 on the roller 16 fold the web about three sides of the mandrel as shown in FIG. 5. Next the web is engaged by the rollers 19 which complete the operation of forming a rectangular tube. The heat sealing means 23 causes overlapping edges of the web 1 and the tape 13 to be sealed as at 22 in FIG. 9. The roller 24 backs up the mandrel at the heat sealing point. The roller 25 perfects the seal holding it until the web cools. Below the mandrel 15, the members 146 press the portions 6 of fold lines 2 inwardly to form the gussets 5, and the members 147 press the portions 8 inwardly toward the tube 40. As the thus partly formed cartons move downwardly, the heat sealing elements 47 and the pressure blocks engage the portions 8 of the carton and under the heat and pressure causethe sealing of the tube to form the top of one container a and the bottom of the next succeeding one. As this seal is made, fluent material from the tube 40 enters the container whose bottom has just been sealed. The operation continues in cycles of folding, pressing, sealing and filling to form a connected chain of containers or cartons a. They proceed to the conveyor 172 which carries them to the shear blades 63, 64 where they are severed into individual containers a, and pass to the collecting conveyor 71.

While I have referred to the fluent material as being a fluid and preferably a potable fluid, it is to be understood that this machine may handle any material, fluent or fluid which can pass through the tube 40 and which is not inimical to the polyethylene coating 0. The paper b may be any suitable paper such as that presently used for packaging milk, orange juice and other potables. The containers or cartons of this invention may be dispensed from coin operated machines.

It is to be understood that various modifications and changes may be made within the skill of the art and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine for forming and filling paper containers, means for supplying a web of coated paper to said machine, a tubular rectangular mandrel, a roller adjacent one side of the mandrel for pressing said web against said one side, said roller having flanges for folding the web about the two adjacent sides of the mandrel, further rollers adjacent each of said two adjacent sides of. the mandrel for pressing said web against said two adjacent sides, said rollers having flanges for folding the web with the edges thereof in overlapping relation about the fourth side of said mandrel, means for heat sealing said overlapped edges of said web to form a rectangular tube encompassing said mandrel, a further roller following said heat sealing means for pressing the sealed edges against the mandrel to compact the seal, a

pair of conveyors adjacent said mandrel for receiving and forwarding the tube thus formed, one of the conveyors having spaced apart heat sealing lugs engaging the tube, means within the mandrel for supplying fluent material to the tube, said conveyors forming a chain of filled and sealed paper cartons.

2. The machine as defined in claim 1 including means for delineating the pattern of a carton on said web by score lines.

3. The machine as defined in claim 1, wherein the other conveyor of said pair is provided with spaced apart sealing blocks cooperating with the heat sealing lugs to seal the cartons transversely and forward them.

4. The structure as defined in claim 1 including a third conveyor for forwarding the chain of cartons to a receiving station, and means adjacent said third conveyor for severing said chain into single cartons.

5. The machine as defined in claim 1 wherein the coating on the paper is polyethylene.

6. The machine as defined in claim 1 including back-up rollers mounted in the mandrel adjacent each of the rollers which fold the web about the mandrel.

7. The machine as defined in claim 6 including a backup roller adjacent either end of the roller first engaging the web, and a back-up adjacent either end of each of the rollers engaging the two adjacent sides, and a back-up roller adjacent the middle of the roller engaging the sealed overlapped edges of the carton.

8. The structure as defined in claim 1, including means engageable with the tube for forming spaced gussets in two sides of the tube, and other means pressing the other two sides of the tube toward the filling means.

9. The structure as defined in claim 8, including means for introducing a polyethylene coated paper tape inside the formed tube adjacent the longitudinal seal prior to the sealing of the longitudinal edges of the web.

10. The structure as defined in claim 9, including pressure backing means opposite the heat sealing means.

11. The structure as defined in claim 10, including adjustable means for pressing the roller means and the back means toward the mandrel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,113,636 Vogt Apr. 12, 1938 2,156,466 Vogt May 2, 1939 2,259,866 Stokes Oct. 21, 1941 2,307,890 Lakso Jan. 12, 1943 2,379,920 Peters July 10, 1945 2,691,257 Vogt Oct. 12, 1954 2,889,671 Weisman June 9, 1959 2,899,875 Leasure Aug. 18, 1959 2,903,829 Wolff Sept. 15, 1959 

